The only survivors
by bookwriter-lover1212
Summary: Liesel isn't the only survivor. Who survives with her? and what will happen to her now?
1. Chapter 1

**This story is in Liesel's pov.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the book thief and never will**

"She's alive," I heard someone say. My eyes fluttered open and I saw the blue sky above me.

"Papa?" I asked. They pulled me out of the rubble of what had once been my home.

"Liesel!" A boy cried and tackled me in a hug.

"Rudy? What's going on?" I asked. Rudy let go of me and I turned to look at what was left of Himmel street.

"There was bombing," one of the men who had pulled me out of the ruins.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Rudy.

"They're gone," Rudy answered quietly.

"Gone? Gone where?" I asked. I knew what he had meant but I refused to believe it.

"They're dead, Liesel," Rudy whispered and pulled me in to a hug again. Sobs began to rake my body and it became difficult to stand. The police put us in a car and took us to a building where they would decide what would happen to us. I sat beside Rudy on a bench and held his hand tightly.

"It's going to be okay," He said softly. I looked at him. His eyes were sad and his face was covered with dirt and grime. I reached up and touched his dirty lemon colored hair and tears silently escaped. We were the only survivors of Himmel Street.

…

"Well your room is the third door on the left, Liesel, and yours is the one right beside it," Frau Hermann said to Rudy and me. We nodded and walked up the stairs slowly. We walked down the hall and I stopped at the third door on the left and Rudy stopped at his door right beside mine. I walked inside the room and sat down on the bed. Rudy walked in behind me.

"Aren't you going to look at your room?" I asked him.

"No, maybe later," he said and started poking around in my room. He opened a door of what I had assumed was the closet. He walked through the door and came out a second later.

"Hey guess what! Our rooms are joined," he said gesturing to the door. I got up and looked through the door and on the other side was indeed Rudy's room. There was a knock on my door and Frau Hermann entered the room. She brought in two trays of food for Rudy and I.

"Thank you," Rudy and I said politely. After Frau Hermann left Rudy and I sat down on the bed and pushed around the food on our plates. The shock had finally worn off and I was beginning to feel the pain of being alone in the world again. I set my tray aside and put my head into my pillow, so Rudy couldn't see me cry. Rudy would be able to tell anyway, because of the way my body shook as the sobs escaped me. I heard Rudy set his tray aside and he put his hand on my back.

He lifted me from the bed and put me on his lap. I cried into his shoulder as he told me everything was going to be okay and stroked my hair. I eventually cried myself to sleep.

…

"Liesel! Wake up!" Rudy said shaking me awake.

"Huh?" I asked dazed and confused.

"You were having a nightmare," Rudy informed me and the visions of Himmel street in my dream came back to me. I shivered and realized I was still in Rudy's arms. I looked up at Rudy, he looked tired. I climbed off of him and underneath my blankets. Rudy stayed at the end of my bed.

"You should go get some sleep," I said. He shook his head.

"I'm afraid of what I'll see when I close my eyes," he said and looked at me.

"Fine, stay here, but I'm going to sleep," I said. With that I rolled over and fell asleep quickly.

When I woke up again in the middle of the night Rudy was still awake and didn't look like he had slept any since the last time.

"Rudy, you have to sleep," I said.

"I can't," he whispered.

"Maybe you'll be so tired you won't dream, and if you do I'll be right here," I said. I could see him giving in.

"You can sleep right here," I said patting the part of the bed next to me.

"Fine," he said and lay down next to me. He turned his back to me and I traced designs with my finger on his back and soon he was sound asleep. I was just about to fall asleep when Rudy started to fidgeting. Maybe he's just a light sleeper, I thought, but soon he began to moan in his sleep. His eyes flew open in fright. He breathed heavily for a minute and then turned toward me.

"Liesel?" he asked.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Just checking," he said and he was silent for a minute.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

"About what?" he asked.

"Your nightmare," I replied. He was quiet for a long time.

"You were gone," he finally said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You died with everyone else in the bombing and I was all alone," he replied. I turned over on my side so I could look at him.

"I'm here, Rudy," I said and put my arm across him and put my head on his chest.

"I know," he said and put his arm around me. With his body heat keeping me warm in the cold room I quickly fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a reminder! I do not own the book thief no matter how much I wish for it!**

When I woke up Rudy wasn't in the bed. He wasn't even in the room.

"Rudy?" I called. I got out of bed and knocked on his door. There was no reply so I opened it and went in there either. I went down the stairs and found Frau Hermann in the kitchen.

"Have you seen Rudy?" I asked.

"Yes, I believe he's in the library," she replied.

"Thank you," I said and went to the library.

"Rudy?" I said. He was sitting on the window seat staring out it. He turned his head toward me when I called him. His eyes were red and bloodshot and his face was sad. I walked over and sat down next to him.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"No," he replied. I nodded my head and stood up. Rudy reached out and grabbed my wrist before I could go. He dragged me back to him and I sat next to him again. I put my head on his shoulder and we sat there silently for a long time.

When I was with Rudy I didn't feel so alone. He reminded me that I would always have someone with me. We had been best friends since I arrived at Himmel street even if he was a saurkel.

…

"Rudy!" I called into the darkness. "Rudy!" the planes over my head dropped more bombs and the exploded all around me.

"Rudy!" I screamed.

"Liesel!" I hear him calling my name, but he sounds very far away.

"Rudy!" I call back.

"Liesel! Wake up!" Rudy says and my vision blurs and I'm awake again. I sit up in my bed.

"Rudy!" I said and tackled him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded my head.

"You were screaming my name," he whispered.

"It was awful, there were planes that were bombing Himmel street. I was looking for you, but I couldn't find you," I said and buried my head in his shirt.

"It's okay Liesel, I'm here," he said and stoked my hair.

Every night after that it became our routine, I would have a nightmare and Rudy would come in and comfort me and then we would fall asleep. It was just like my midnight readings with Papa.

…

"Liesel," Rudy said shaking me awake.

"Go away," I groaned and shrugged him away.

"The funeral is going to start in an hour," he said and shook me again.

"I don't want to go," I said into my pillow.

"I know, neither do I, but you know we have too," Rudy said. I rolled over on my back and looked at him. He was already dressed in his black sport jack and black slacks.

"Why?" I asked softly. He pushed a piece of hair out of my face and then answered.

"Because they would have wanted us too," he said. He had convinced me. I climbed out of the bed and went to my closet.

"I'll wait for you down stairs," Rudy said and left. I looked in the closet for the new dress Frau Hermann had bought for me. I pulled it out of the closet and put it on.

**Rudy's POV:**

I heard Liesel coming down the stairs and I turned to look at her. The dress was beautiful. It was knee length and grey with a black ribbon going around just above her waist that was tied in a bow in the back. Her hair was curled and shinier than usual. I smiled at her as she reached the bottom of the stairs. I offered her my arm and she took it.

"You ready?" I asked.

"No, but I don't have a choice," she said.

"Don't worry, I'm here," I replied and smiled at her. She returned the smile and we got into Frau Hermann's car and went on our way to the funeral.

The funeral was long and sad. The part after the service where everyone was standing around saying how sorry they were for everyone's loss was the worst part. Everyone kept looking at Liesel and I with pity, I hated it. I could hear them whispering things like, "poor things" and "They're so young." It made me sick! I could tell Liesel could hear them too by the look on her face. I took her hand and she squeezed it.

"We'll wait in the car, you two just come when you're ready," Frau Hermann told Liesel and I after everyone had left. Liesel and I had brought flowers for the graves and we went over and sat them down. I sat in front of my families graves and I said goodbye to each one.

"Can we tip them over now, Rudy?" I heard my sisters voice.

"Not yet," A voice in my head replied, "We have to light the candles." Tears started to slip down my face and quickly wiped them away. I could hear the dominos fall over one by one. I stood up and left the graves and stood behind Liesel, after a minute she got to her feet. She turned toward me and hugged me.

"Don't ever leave me," She said.

"I won't," I replied.

"Promise?" she asked.

"I promise," I said. She pulled away so she could look at me. Her hands were still around my neck and mine were still around her waist, so we were still half hugging. Our eyes locked. I leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. I was expecting her to slap me or yell at me or something, but when I pulled back she was smiling. So I leaned in again and kissed her harder and she kissed me back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Liesel's POV:**

"Stupid math," I screamed and threw the book at the door just as Rudy walked in.

"Whoa!" he said and sidestepped to get out of the way.

"Sorry," I said. He smiled and sat down next to me.

"Need any help?" he asked.

"Yeah, but not now," I said with a sigh. I leaned my head back against the wall. After the kiss Rudy and I had it was like nothing had happened. It really bothered me, I didn't know if I was supposed to act like it had happened or just ignore it. Rudy grabbed my hand and stroked it gently. I looked at him. There was nock on the door and Rudy dropped my hand.

"Come in," I said. Frau Hermann came in the room.

"Rudy, this letter came for you," she said and handed him the letter, then left the room. The envelope was white and had no return address on it. Rudy stared at it for a moment then turned it over and gently ripped open the envelope. He read the letter silently then put it back into the envelope and tossed it aside. He said nothing to me and stared straight ahead.

"Rudy?" I asked softly and grabbed his hand. He looked at me and I could tell something was terribly wrong.

"My Papa is missing in action," He said slowly. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand.

"Oh, Rudy, I'm so sorry," and I started crying. Rudy's father was one of the best men there was and it was a terrible thing he had gone missing. Rudy pulled me close to him and hugged me.

"This doesn't mean he's dead," I said mostly to reassure me than him.

"Most of the time when someone goes MIA they are usually don't come back," Rudy whispered. I cried into Rudy's shirt, thinking about all the times we had in his shop. Rudy hugged me until I had stopped crying.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Am I okay? He's your father, I should be asking you. Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I already figured he wasn't coming back, because if he could have he would have come back for the funeral," Rudy said.

"Oh, Rudy," I whispered.

"It's not your fault, please stop crying," He said and wiped away my stray tears, "Come on lets go for a walk." He grabbed my hand and led me out of the house. I shivered as the cold snowflakes touched my skin, I was glad to have Rudy's warm hand.

**Rudy's POV:**

I led Liesel to the river where I had jumped in to get her stupid book. I smiled as I remembered the memory.

"What?" she asked me.

"Just remembering when I jumped in to get your book," I said with a half laugh.

"Would you do it again?" She asked. I stopped walking and she stopped too. I looked her in the eyes.

"Absolutely, I'd do anything for you," I said and then she did something that caught me off guard. She put her arms around my neck and kissed me. He lips were cold and it was like kissing a snowflake and I smiled at the thought.

"Rudy, I love you," she said when we broke apart. I put my forehead against hers.

"I love you too," I replied. She grabbed my hand again and we continued our walk.

"Does this mean we're like a couple?" I asked.

"Do you want to be a couple?" She asked me.

"Yes," I replied.

"Then we're a couple," she said and smiled at me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Liesel's POV:**

Standing at the front of the class with all eyes on me made me nervous and I started to stutter. My palms began to sweat and the words rolled off my tongue in a jumbled mess of vowels. The kids began to laugh and snicker at me.

"Liesel, can't read," they whispered over and over again.

"Liesel, can I talk to you out in the hall?" The teacher asked me. I look at Rudy in his seat and then followed her out into the hall.

"You will have to take a reading test this Friday, I knew you were a slow reader, but I had no idea it was this bad," She said. I looked at the floor in shame. I knew I could read, but I had been nervous and the words wouldn't come out.

"Will you need help after school?" She asked me.

"No Ma'am, I can read," I answered.

"We'll see on Friday," she replied and the bell rang signaling dismissal. The teacher walked down the hall leaving me alone to face the class. I opened the door and everyone laughed in my face.

"Liesel can't read!" One kid, named Erik taunted me. He picked up a piece of paper and wrote 'cat' on it, "Bet you can't even read this." He said and laughed at his own joke. Rudy stood up from his seat very silently walked up to Erik and smiled at him.

"That's real funny," Rudy said and gave a convincing laugh. If you didn't know him you would have thought it was real. Then Rudy cut off his laugh and punched Erik in the face, hard.

"You ever talk to or about Liesel again and I swear you will I hurt you ten times as bad as that," Rudy growled at him. Rudy grabbed my hand and led me from the classroom.

"Rudy, I didn't get my bag," I said. He turned around to go get it, but I pulled on his arm to stop him.

"I'll get it, I don't want you to get in trouble," I said. He looked at me for a minute then nodded his head.

"Fine, be quick," he said.

"I will," I said and darted down the hall to get my bag.

"Well, look who's back. Oh, and she's alone," Erik said as I walked into the classroom. The only people in the room was him and his group of friends. I quickly grabbed my bag and made my way back to the door, but his friends stepped in front of the door.

"Let me out," I said quietly.  
"Oh come on, we just want to have a little fun," Erik said and snaked his arm low around my waist.

"Get off of me," I growled and pushed his arm away. He grabbed me roughly.

"Come on sweetheart you know you can't really like Rudy Steiner," Erik said and tried to kiss me, but I pushed him away and he only got my cheek.

"Rudy!" I screamed.

"Now, that wasn't very smart," Erik said.

"Let her go," I thought it was Rudy, when I looked up it was actually one of Erik's friends.

"Rudy!" I screamed again.

"Liesel?" I heard Rudy call.

"Rudy!" I screamed and he burst into the room.

"Come on Erik, just let her go. You don't want to start anything," Erik's friend said.

"Yeah Erik, you should listen to your friend," Rudy growled.

"Fine you want the Saumensch, take her," Erik said and pushed me toward Rudy. I fell hard on the floor. Erik's friends drag him out of the room. I could hear Erik growling at them down the hall.

"You okay?" Rudy asked helping to my feet. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too, Liesel," Rudy replied. I kissed him on the cheek.


	5. Chapter 5

**Rudy's POV:**

Liesel read the paragraph the teacher had given her. Her words came out flawlessly. She had been practicing all week and she could probably read the paragraph without the paper. When Liesel lowered the piece of paper she looked at me. I smiled back at her and began to clap. The rest of the class stared in shock. I wasn't shocked at all. I knew Liesel could read like anyone else, she always had her nose in a book.

"Thank you Liesel, you may return to your seat," The teacher said. Liesel nodded and silently went to her seat. I zoned out for the rest of class 'cause it was just boring stuff I would never remember anyway.

"Rudy?" the teacher said. I jumped and turned my head toward the teacher.

"Um, 3.14159?" I said uncertainly.

"I asked which word was the subject in the sentence not what pi was. Please try to pay more attention," She said and turned back to the rest of the class. Again I turned my attention away from the lesson. I was thinking about Liesel. I was always thinking about Liesel.

"Rudy, it's time to go home," Liesel's beautiful voice broke through my thoughts. I smiled and took her hand as we walked to Frau Herman's house. We laughed and joked all the way home, but we both fell silent when we opened the front door of the house. Standing in front of me was my father.

**Liesel's POV:**

Rudy's father turned around slowly to look at us. Rudy quickly dropped my hand and ran to his father her gladly put his arms around him. They hugged each other happily and I stood off to the side. Had I already been forgotten? Was I nothing more to Rudy than something to make the pain go away? The thoughts brought tears to my eyes and I silently slipped into the library. I pulled out my school books and soft sobs raked through my body at the thought of losing another person I loved, but in a much different way. Tears dripped down onto my homework and my ink smeared across my paper. I gave up on my homework and simply sat in the chair crying.

The sun began to go down, but I made no move to turn on any lights. It became later and later and still no one came for me. Had everyone forgotten me? Even Frau Herman? My stomach growled and I knew I would have to leave the library for food. I slowly got to my feet and straightened out my dress. I opened the door and I heard Rudy's laugh float into the room. The laugh I had fallen in love with and my heart contracted. Another sob wanted to escape my body, but I held it in. I ran to the kitchen hoping no one was in there and there wasn't. I fixed myself some food and ate silently in the kitchen. When I was finished I went up to my room and cried myself to sleep.

**Rudy's POV:**

Where was Liesel? Where had she run off to and why hadn't she joined us for dinner? It became later and Liesel still hadn't showed up.

"Will you excuse me?" I asked.

"Of course," everyone replied and I stood up. First I checked the library, but the only thing there were her school books. Next I went up stairs and found her asleep in her room. She had gone to sleep? Why hadn't she said goodnight? I went over to her bed and stroked her cheek. It was wet. Why was her cheek wet? Had she been crying? I bent over and kissed her on the cheek and then went to my room. I quickly fell asleep, but soon I was awakened by the sound of crying. I got out of bed and went to Liesel's room.

"Liesel, why are you crying?" I asked her, but she rolled over on to her side so I couldn't see her face.

"Liesel, talk to me," I said gently, but she shook her head. I sat down on the bed beside her. I lifted her off the bed and put her in my lap and she didn't resist.

"What's the matter?" I tried again.

"I'm alone," she whispered.

"You're not alone. You still have me," I replied.

"No, Rudy, I don't," she said.

"What? Of course you still have me! I'm right here," I said.

"You may be here, but you have left me alone," she said. I thought of all the things I might have done wrong.

"Liesel, I don't know what you are talking about," I said completely confused.

"You didn't even notice I was gone," she whispered. I realized she was talking about tonight.

"Of course I noticed! I went looking for you, but you were already up here asleep," I said.

"Why didn't you look sooner?" she asked. Why hadn't I gone looking for her sooner? Because I didn't notice until then that she hadn't showed. I sighed.

"Liesel, I'm sorry. I promise I won't ever leave you," I said. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it, I took that as an act of forgiveness. I kissed the top of her hair and she crawled out of my arms and laid down beside me. I laid down too and wrapped my arms around her.

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